Bronze(?) object found at the south rim of the Grand Canyon

[jsandin]

I found this lying on the ground near one of the hotels at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. My guess is that it's a sprue from a cast bronze object. It's not lead. What is it? It was not buried when I found it.

 

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[mpostma]

It looks like a bullet to me. A large one to be sure, but it sure looks like a fired bullet that struck something.

I've dug many, though none quite that large.

HH
Mark

 

[allen]

no clue...

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

looks like a bronze bushing, emergency brake from a 1920's something.

 

[phantomfinder]

i don't know , man . WTG ,

 

[jsandin]

Correct me if I'm wrong....

I'm starting to think it might be a very big copper-clad slug (perhaps from a fired 20mm round) that happened to be in some fill dirt that was brought to the rim for a construction project. My coworker came up with the fill dirt idea; anything can end up anywhere when tons of dirt are moved from one place to another. And I do seem to remember some newer construction nearby, of some small cabin-like buildings.

I don't see any rifling, but there may be some under the corrosion. I guess it's possible that there's lead in it.
But I admire it as a found object, so I'm not going to do an autopsy.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

oh..i guess i did not look at the pen for comparsion.
it could be a round...you get in big trouble for pulling the trigger up there.

 

[jsandin]

"The sharpie rules out a trunion from an exploded howitzer.

Have there ever been any old Buicks in the vicinity?"

Probably. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions on earth.

 

[Bum Luck]

Looks like a bullet to me.

I've dug a lot of them out from in back of the target range backstop.

 

[Steve in Michigan]

Could it be an old fuse? Just a thought. I know the old ones had brass ends.

Your Friend,

Steve in Michigan

 

[Ed-NH]

I agree with bullet. I have found many of them around here too.

 

[Pangus]

I disagree with the bullet theory.

Judging by its comparison to the sharpie, the shaft part is about .5 inches in diameter. That'd be a 50 cal. bullet. The longest bullet projectile I could find for a .50 was at 2.31 inches. Judging by the picture again, if the deformed metal was corrected, it might be the right length, but it would more likely than not, (not always, I know), be boat tailed on the end (like a football's butt), and would have crimp marks around 1 inch from the base. Also, I would expect a round that long to be fired from a rifled barrel, and there are no rifling marks...

Just my .02...

 

[Gilligan]

Perhaps it is a fossilized prehistoric cigarette butt. Actually, I agree that it is a bullet. You can see the mushrooming from impact.

 

[Steve in Michigan]

I still can't believe that is a bullet. Look how much is sticking out and then look how much has been smashed. That brass would have been about 4-5 inches long just by comparing the size to the sharpie sitting next to it.

Your Friend,

Steve in Michigan

 

[born2treasurehunt]

Speculation! Looking at and some of old picture history books, I think it is a piece that is mounted on a boat for a rowing mechanism. I would check into it more because a few guys ran off on Powel never to be heard of or what was there final destiny other than captured by Indian's.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

the people who separated from the powell expedition climbed out the north rim.

 

[jsandin]

More info! I showed it to a coworker who is more observant than I am.

He noticed a raised number 8 that I never noticed, and you also can't see in the photos (and I never noticed) that it clearly has a circular rounded head within the melted metal. The head is 1.25" in diameter. The shaft diameter is exactly 1/2". The entire part is exactly 1.5" long.

It appears to be a defective bronze rivet that was tossed away unused. Sound logical? Here's a scan of the number 8, on what I think is the rivet's head.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

hummm, wonder if it is an old survey marker that was replaced? that would account for the damage.